Below are some recommended reads for this weekend.
1. While I was in the Adirondacks a couple of weeks ago I missed a post by Diane Beaumenot of One Rhode Island Family blog . . . and anyone with roots in Rhode Island should never miss a blog post by Diane! In case, like me, you missed "Did Your Ancestor Make Medical History?" you should go here to read Diane's goldmine of Rhode Island medical history sources. The Rhode Island Medical Society (RIMS) has published its medical journal for over 100 years and the special Heritage section of each issue presents stories related to Rhode Island's medical past. Diane lists many of the titles to give a good idea of the material that it covers. Harkening back to last week's Saturday Serendipity item about the Open Air School Movement, one title Diane mentions is "Fresh Air Camp Opens for Consumptives in Foster." Another article is "A Chronology of Rhode Island Hospitals" about the formation of each hospital in Rhode Island–of particular interest to me as my mother is a graduate of the Rhode Island Hospital School of Nursing. Many of the sources Diane presents can lead to possible genealogical information for those who believe they have ancestors or relatives who were involved in medicine in Rhode Island. For example, get links to Sketches of Rhode Island physicians deceased prior to 1850 or Physician's and Dentist's directory of New England States: Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut (1910).
2. Jacqui Stevens, of A Family Tapestry blog, posted today a truly thought-provoking piece titled, "A Genealogy Go Bag." I spent several minutes going through a mental inventory of essential genealogy items I would need to rescue in an emergency that threatened my home and genealogy room and decided I would need a small U-Haul trailer hitched to a spare car in the driveway -- full of gas and the usual "be prepared" items to be sure, but with ramps ready to receive a room full of stuff accumulated by generations. My head nearly exploded, but it is seriously something to ponder! [N.B. Tonight's "Saturday Night Genealogy Fun" assignment at Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings blog takes inspiration from Jacqui's post. Randy details his list and reasoning here.]
3. James Tanner, of Genealogy's Star blog, considers the form and history of the pedigree chart in "Blinded by a Pedigree Chart" here.
4. Anyone who has done genealogy research in the U.S. for very long has used the federal censuses at some point–and they can be very useful. But, among the challenges and aggravations of using the census is the incredible variation in the quality of enumerator handwriting. Janine Adams, of Organize Your Family History blog, wrote this week about the frustration and outright misdirection that can be encountered in using censuses as a research source because of sometimes atrocious handwriting. Read "Handwriting: One of the challenges of census research" here and see the examples Janine provides (along with the correct translations/transcriptions).
5. Laura Mattingly, of The Old Trunk in the Attic blog, posted what I consider to be a beautifully written biographical sketch of a family member. It is short, but very informative and engaging. In just ten paragraphs you feel as though you come to know a man who had a life well led. Meet "Uncle Orville" here and see if you agree.
6. And finally, two items highlighted in The Weekly Genealogist of American Ancestors/NEHGS. The first is about a woman who searches in old books for items left behind by prior owners/readers of the book. Read here about this interesting hobby turned into an Instagram account you can visit for more examples of her discoveries. The second item is about the city of Quincy, Massachusetts aspiring to create a John Adams presidential library. They have taken a first step by formally requesting the Boston Public Library to return 3,000 volumes of books that belonged to John Adams to form the centerpiece for a presidential library. Quincy is the final resting place of John Adams. Read more about the effort here. [NB: You might have to answer a survey question to access the full article.]
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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew
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